The drome was in complete disarray, we had to break out all the old cement from previous patch work and remove stumps that had grown through the cracks. Armed with sledge hammers and crowbars we demolished faulted sections of the velodrome removed stumps and other debris from all cracks and crevasses. As soon as the cement arrived we had a small window of time to get the cement from the u-cart to the drome. Come check out the results of the pour at the first thunderdrome october 16th 2010, the first race here in 18 years.

The Thunderdrome Needs You! Our sponsors have covered all of our costs thus far, but we just got our bill for event insurance. Woah. If you add this up with the material cost to repair all of the cracks on the 'Drome, it comes out to a round $1500. Check this blog post to see how you can donate and where we're at with our goal: thunderdrome.com/donations

We’ve had a great day bringing Thunderdrome to a reality. Andy, Ben and I hit Dorais Velodrome with some major machinery today. Thanks to Kilburn’s Rental Equipment in Warren for generously supplying a most awesome tracked Bobcat fitted with a brush hog (epic destructive power), the infield, mountain bike trail, vendor area and spectator area are all cleared. We took down the remaining trees too close to the track with a chainsaw from Kilburn’s too, and things are coming along nicely.
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The Thunderdrome is our racing series made for mopeds, scooters, road bicycles and mountain bicycles and takes place on the Dorais Velodrome in Detroit, MI. The ‘Drome is steeped in history – this is its tale.

Back in August, a group of renegade landscapers calling themselves The Mower Gang hit Dorais Park in Detroit, MI with tractors, hand tools and a fistful of determination. They literally uncovered a relic of a Detroit passed – a Velodrome, or banked racing track, built in the late 60?s amid the tensions and trials of the riots that broke out in the city only a few years prior to its completion.

In 1967 or ’68 Mike began the project that would become the Dorais Velodrome located on Outer Drive and Mound Roads. The facility was finished just in time for the ’69 Nationals to be held. In the same time frame when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon, Mike stepped out on the infield of the Dorais Velodrome to return track racing to Detroit, another monumental feat by a determined individual. The Dorais Track had a useful life of approximately 20 years…By the 90?s that track surface had deteriorated to the point it was good only for BMX…Once again Detroit was without a Velodrome. — Link

In the 80?s, car gangs set upon the ‘Drome to hold illegal races at night. The heavy weight of the cars shifted the concrete pads and severely damaged the surface on the inside of turns, making it too costly to repair for such little use Dorais sees. In the mid 90?s, a new Velodrome was being built outside of the city, far to the north in Rochester Hills – with that, Dorais Park was left to die.
Snap forward to 2010. The weeds that have grown heartily between the cracks of Dorais’ venerable pavement have been chopped down and graded to form perfect, smooth seams between the cracked portions. The zealous foliage that has been obscuring the track from public view has been pruned back and groomed to present a large, study stone bowl that so many once knew so well. From the sweat of a few local optimists came a beautiful sight never seen: Dorais Park had been given a new lease on life and the opportunity to again host racing in earnest.

Detroit will never be as it once was; the rows upon rows of factory workers and their families have left for good. We believe in revitalization through reinvention – realizing the gifts our ancestors have given us are still here and still very real.
Enter The Thunderdrome. We’re a racing outfit here to get Detroit’s road bike, mountain bike, scooter and moped racers back out into the bright, wide world and competing. The entry fees are just enough to cover the costs of the event – with real prizes, trophies and awards being given out to the victors. Spectating will always be free at every Thunderdrome event – forever. That’s our way of giving back to the community that’s given us the chance to do this at all. We welcome our spectators to become VIP Spectators by donating a minimum of $5 or more to the cause, which can be easily done onlineor at the door to the event.

All profits from Thunderdrome events will be used to maintain and update Dorais Park and the Velodrome. We’ll be taking over the repair, maintenance and general upkeep as long as people are still racing.

Let’s get to it.

Two of my favorite pastimes just collided tonight, one being reading bike blogs, and the other is design on Illustrator. That being said the video below is from a fella named Jackson Anderson who recently submitted a video to one of my favorite bike blogs Prolly. The video is a time-lapse of him creating a design for a contest hosted by Prolly. This Illustration is amazing!

the office
Fresh chain gives this bike new life.
Driving Big Yellow to Detroit to pick up some supplies.
Abandoned building no, Detroit Cycle Supply yes! This building is over 100 years old and has one of the areas oldest functioning elevators.

This is Charles he had a sign that said "Please Help" so I gave him a box on wheels full of cans that I was about to take to Meijers.

Repair going back to a customer.

Big Yellow is loaded and ready to head north to drop a repair and visit Pontiac Lake Rec.